* Trigger Warning - Mild gore *

My eyes grew accustomed to the dark as Akrsna's energy intervened with my sight. The tread of bulky boots resonated against the cobbled stone floor, one foot at a time.

A sweet, musty stench remained in the air. I stifled from gagging on the unpleasant smell and covered my nose with my t-shirt, inhaling the familiar scent of my detergent.

A shaft of light shone onto a man kneeling on the ground, shirtless. Crimson slashes decorated his torso. The chains around his wrists kept him pinned to the spot like a pinata. The man wept, hanging his head in shame.

As I crept closer, the iron bar rattled from the prisoner in the next cell, gaining the man's attention. Gazing up in fright, we locked eyes. The spotlight defined the dull circles under his eyes, casting a shadow along his sunken cheeks.

Gripping onto my trembling knees, I bowed my head. I had found him. "Dad?" I reached out, grasping the railing.

He tore his eyes away, breaking any visual contact. "They can hear you, so quit wasting your energy." His voice was flat, and all traces of humour had vanished.

The Dad who gave me a pep talk on overcoming stage fright at the age of nine was gone within a blink of an eye. It was like I was staring at a stranger, a replica of my father. He was the glue that kept the family together. There was no hope left in him as he sat slumped in his cell, waiting for his punishment.

A disembodied male voice talked over me from the next cell. "Some of us wanna get out of here."

I became the third wheel in their conversation, hiding within the shadows. A touch away from comforting my dad when he needed it the most.

Dad didn't move a muscle. "If you get out, they will find you."

"Nah, man. Not me." The prisoner had a raspy voice as if he was a chronic smoker. "You can rot in here for all I care, but I'll bust my way out, one way or another." He preceded banging on the bar with his fists.

White spots dotted my vision as I began losing the connection with Akrsna. His energy was stripped away, leaving me unable to see in the blackness of the dungeon.

I gasped, exhaling the coal-black tendrils. Akrsna left an astringent aftertaste on my tongue.

Edwina's blurry outline came into focus. My stomach twisted from her sly smile and the eeriness of possessing my identity.

We aren't the same, and stealing my appearance isn't going to change that. Relative or not.

"Thank you, Erika." She stroked my cheek; Edwina's touch was a distant graze. "I've longed to be human again." She radiated warmth like a mortal, unlike the usual signature chilly imprint of her fingertips on my flesh.

Observing her odd behaviour, a stab of anxiety drilled its way into my gut. Fear nipped at my skin, slithering further within my core. "What did you do?" The room seemed smaller, as if the objects downsized, taking on a grayscale perception.

"I don't believe we have formally been acquainted." A gruff voice spoke from the corner of the room.

I tilted my head back and squirmed along the floor from the black mass sheltered in the far corner of the kitchen. He didn't possess a body but was more like a mould of a disfigured monster. No distinct facial features were present. Thick, black mist spiralled around him. Each tentacle had red eyes like a living organism, feeding on darkness itself.

No need for a name tag. I know who you are.

My mouth quirked in annoyance. "What did you do to me?" The way she lazily admired her warm-blooded form let me know she could no longer see the protruding darkness. "Why can I see him?" His shallow breathing was a constant reminder that my fear had come true. If I was able to see Akrsna in the flesh, that only meant one thing.

I'm dead.

"I doubt you have what it takes to kill a vampire, and frankly, your haggling needs work." She inspected her fingers, bending them as if somebody had given her new joints. "While you were under Akrsna's influence, I drained your energy and exchanged our places."

Taking the energy she needed, Edwina had more control over her powers. Each time she sucked the energy force from another, it added fuel to the fire.

Where can I go from here?

Dad and Ethan relied on me, and I owed them this much to save them. I couldn't do that if I was stuck on the other side with darkness hanging over my shoulder.

Sauntering the length of the kitchen like she was on a fashion walk, she spun around in circles. "I feel alive."

That's because you are, partially. 

"Everything looks vivid and vibrant." She examined the Chinese evergreen plant on the windowsill. "Being stuck on the other side for two hundred and seventy-two years can drive anybody potty."

Wringing my hands around the base of the table, I pulled myself up and dug my nails into the wood, imagining it was her scrawny neck.

Being on the other side is like having colour sucked from a painting. No wonder Edwina hates being stuck on the other side. She's jealous of what I had, and now she's got everything she wanted.

Stealing my life and identity was one thing, but toying with my emotions and putting lives in danger for her own selfish reasons was another. 

"If I can get to Ethan before he transitions and becomes a vampire, the trade can go ahead. A life for a life." It was impossible to know his whereabouts without interrogating Samuel first, and that wasn't going to be pleasant.

Akrsna's throaty growl vibrated the cutlery in the drawer, and the glasses clattered in the cupboards. "You can't bargain with us when we're doing you a favour, young one."

"You need me. Neither one of you is as powerful to bring down the vampiric race. Alani is doing all the work." I did the math. Two immortal entities were stuck without a power source, and Alani was the provider. "Alani killed the vampires at the graveyard. That's the reason why you're stronger."

Take out the provider from the equation, and you're left with nothing. If Edwina was allergic to metal, then Alani had a weakness. She created Akrsna from a substance that grew over time, and with no souls to digest, he would simply dissolve.

The knob rotated back and forth, rattling from the other side. Glancing towards the door, I knew Edwina was contemplating stepping outside and killing Samuel out of frustration. "I have all the power I need from you. What makes you think I need you now?"

"Vampires are repulsed by my blood, making me a less easy target for their disposal," I said, circling Edwina. Being the one stuck on the other side with many disadvantages, I was the one relishing power. "Give me a location. Coordinates. Anything other than a shitty vision."

Edwina glanced around the room for the help of Akrsna as her aide, forgetting she could no longer interact with him.

"Akrsna's on board," I lied, collapsing against the countertop. He didn't respond to the mention of his name, but he didn't refuse either. My mood lifted as hope bloomed through my veins. "The ball is in your court now."

I had hit a nerve. Edwina couldn't remember what it was like to be mortal and powerless. She grabbed my arm with ruthless pressure and swung me around, mocking me. "I hope you don't reach the boy on time, then maybe you will follow in my footsteps, and I can kill him myself."

Bracing myself against the countertop, I grabbed the nearest metal object I could find and ignored Akrsna's growing growls in the corner. "If this is some kind of fancy heritage reunion, then I will do anything to get you out of my life."

"Do you honestly believe Shadowbrook would be a better place with vampires? It's only about time when someone you love dies, and I don't mean the boy." Edwina tugged my shoulder, twisting me round. "Blood conquers all."

I plunged the fork into the side of her neck. Blood oozed from the opening, casing her fingers. "You're nothing without magic." The edges of my lips stretched into a grin because she would die as a mortal from the inflicted wound.

Running for the door, I turned the handle and fell across the threshold.

Radella peeked over Jonathan's shoulder from the porch. "Erika, what happened?" Edwina's blood coated my fingers, dripping off the fork in my hand.

Johnathan glanced up and down the hallway with a frown, removing his glasses. "What are you talking about? Erika's not there."

A/N

Word Count: 1,480

Edwina and Arksna are stuck in the kitchen, but for how long? Now that Edwina is mortal and she currently can't use magic, will she survive?

Will Erika be able to find Ethan in time before he transitions?

Have a fantastic day!

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